Surah 5 The Table

O ye who believe! fulfil (all) obligations. Lawful
unto you (for food) are all four-footed animals, with
the exceptions named: But animals of the chase are
forbidden while ye are in the sacred precincts or in
pilgrim garb: for God doth command according to His
will and plan.

O ye who believe! Violate not the sanctity of the
symbols of God, nor of the sacred month, nor of the
animals brought for sacrifice, nor the garlands that
mark out such animals, nor the people resorting to the
sacred house, seeking of the bounty and good pleasure
of their Lord. But when ye are clear of the sacred
precincts and of pilgrim garb, ye may hunt and let not
the hatred of some people in (once) shutting you out
of the Sacred Mosque lead you to transgression (and
hostility on your part). Help ye one another in
righteousness and piety, but help ye not one another
in sin and rancour: fear God: for God is strict in
punishment.

Forbidden to you (for food) are: dead meat, blood,
the flesh of swine, and that on which hath been invoked
the name of other than God; that which hath been killed
by strangling, or by a violent blow, or by a headlong
fall, or by being gored to death; that which hath been
(partly) eaten by a wild animal; unless ye are able to
slaughter it (in due form); that which is sacrificed on
stone (altars); (forbidden) also is the division (of
meat) by raffling with arrows: that is impiety. This
day have those who reject faith given up all hope of
your religion: yet fear them not but fear Me. This day
have I perfected your religion for you, completed My
favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your
religion. But if any is forced by hunger, with no
inclination to transgression, God is indeed
Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful.

They ask thee what is lawful to them (as food).
Say: lawful unto you are (all) things good and pure:
and what ye have taught your trained hunting animals
(to catch) in the manner directed to you by God: eat
what they catch for you, but pronounce the name of God
over it: and fear God; for God is swift in taking
account.

This day are (all) things good and pure made lawful
unto you. The food of the People of the Book is lawful
unto you and yours is lawful unto them. (Lawful unto
you in marriage) are (not only) chaste women who are
believers, but chaste women among the People of the
Book, revealed before your time,- when ye give them
their due dowers, and desire chastity, not lewdness,
nor secret intrigues if any one rejects faith,
fruitless is his work, and in the Hereafter he will be
in the ranks of those who have lost (all spiritual
good).

O ye who believe! when ye prepare for prayer, wash
your faces, and your hands (and arms) to the elbows;
Rub your heads (with water); and (wash) your feet to
the ankles. If ye are in a state of ceremonial
impurity, bathe your whole body. But if ye are ill, or
on a journey, or one of you cometh from offices of
nature, or ye have been in contact with women, and ye
find no water, then take for yourselves clean sand or
earth, and rub therewith your faces and hands, God doth
not wish to place you in a difficulty, but to make you
clean, and to complete his favour to you, that ye may
be grateful.

And call in remembrance the favour of God unto you,
and His covenant, which He ratified with you, when ye
said: "We hear and we obey": And fear God, for God
knoweth well the secrets of your hearts.

O ye who believe! stand out firmly for God, as
witnesses to fair dealing, and let not the hatred of
others to you make you swerve to wrong and depart from
justice. Be just: that is next to piety: and fear God.
For God is well-acquainted with all that ye do.

To those who believe and do deeds of righteousness
hath God promised forgiveness and a great reward.

Those who reject faith and deny our signs will be
companions of Hell-fire.

O ye who believe! Call in remembrance the favour of
God unto you when certain men formed the design to
stretch out their hands against you, but (God) held
back their hands from you: so fear God. And on God let
believers put (all) their trust.

God did aforetime take a covenant from the Children
of Israel, and we appointed twelve captains among them.
And God said: "I am with you: if ye (but) establish
regular prayers, practise regular charity, believe in
my apostles, honour and assist them, and loan to God a
beautiful loan, verily I will wipe out from you your
evils, and admit you to gardens with rivers flowing
beneath; but if any of you, after this, resisteth
faith, he hath truly wandered from the path or
rectitude."

But because of their breach of their covenant, We
cursed them, and made their hearts grow hard; they
change the words from their (right) places and forget a
good part of the message that was sent them, nor wilt
thou cease to find them- barring a few - ever bent on
(new) deceits: but forgive them, and overlook (their
misdeeds): for God loveth those who are kind.

From those, too, who call themselves Christians, We
did take a covenant, but they forgot a good part of the
message that was sent them: so we estranged them, with
enmity and hatred between the one and the other, to the
day of judgment. And soon will God show them what it is
they have done.

O people of the Book! There hath come to you our
Apostle, revealing to you much that ye used to hide in
the Book, and passing over much (that is now
unnecessary): There hath come to you from God a (new)
light and a perspicuous Book, -

Wherewith God guideth all who seek His good
pleasure to ways of peace and safety, and leadeth them
out of darkness, by His will, unto the light,- guideth
them to a path that is straight.

In blasphemy indeed are those that say that God is
Christ the son of Mary. Say: "Who then hath the least
power against God, if His will were to destroy Christ
the son of Mary, his mother, and all every - one that
is on the earth? For to God belongeth the dominion of
the heavens and the earth, and all that is between. He
createth what He pleaseth. For God hath power over all
things."

(Both) the Jews and the Christians say: "We are
sons of God, and his beloved." Say: "Why then doth He
punish you for your sins? Nay, ye are but men,- of the
men he hath created: He forgiveth whom He pleaseth, and
He punisheth whom He pleaseth: and to God belongeth the
dominion of the heavens and the earth, and all that is
between: and unto Him is the final goal (of all)"

O People of the Book! Now hath come unto you,
making (things) clear unto you, Our Apostle, after the
break in (the series of) our apostles, lest ye should
say: "There came unto us no bringer of glad tidings and
no warner (from evil)": But now hath come unto you a
bringer of glad tidings and a warner (from evil). And
God hath power over all things.

Remember Moses said to his people: "O my people!
Call in remembrance the favour of God unto you, when He
produced prophets among you, made you kings, and gave
you what He had not given to any other among the
peoples.

"O my people! Enter the holy land which God hath
assigned unto you, and turn not back ignominiously, for
then will ye be overthrown, to your own ruin."

They said: "O Moses! In this land are a people of
exceeding strength: Never shall we enter it until they
leave it: if (once) they leave, then shall we enter."

(But) among (their) God-fearing men were two on
whom God had bestowed His grace: They said: "Assault
them at the (proper) Gate: when once ye are in, victory
will be yours; But on God put your trust if ye have
faith."

They said: "O Moses! while they remain there, never
shall we be able to enter, to the end of time. Go thou,
and thy Lord, and fight ye two, while we sit here (and
watch)."

He said: "O my Lord! I have power only over myself
and my brother: so separate us from this rebellious
people!"

God said: "Therefore will the land be out of their
reach for forty years: In distraction will they wander
through the land: But sorrow thou not over these
rebellious people.

Recite to them the truth of the story of the two
sons of Adam. Behold! they each presented a sacrifice
(to God): It was accepted from one, but not from the
other. Said the latter: "Be sure I will slay thee."
"Surely," said the former, "God doth accept of the
sacrifice of those who are righteous.

"If thou dost stretch thy hand against me, to slay
me, it is not for me to stretch my hand against thee to
slay thee: for I do fear God, the cherisher of the
worlds.

"For me, I intend to let thee draw on thyself my
sin as well as thine, for thou wilt be among the
companions of the fire, and that is the reward of those
who do wrong."

The (selfish) soul of the other led him to the
murder of his brother: he murdered him, and became
(himself) one of the lost ones.

Then God sent a raven, who scratched the ground, to
show him how to hide the shame of his brother. "Woe is
me!" said he; "Was I not even able to be as this raven,
and to hide the shame of my brother?" then he became
full of regrets-

On that account: We ordained for the Children of
Israel that if any one slew a person - unless it be for
murder or for spreading mischief in the land - it would
be as if he slew the whole people: and if any one saved
a life, it would be as if he saved the life of the
whole people. Then although there came to them Our
apostles with clear signs, yet, even after that, many
of them continued to commit excesses in the land.

The punishment of those who wage war against God
and His Apostle, and strive with might and main for
mischief through the land is: execution, or
crucifixion, or the cutting off of hands and feet from
opposite sides, or exile from the land: that is their
disgrace in this world, and a heavy punishment is
theirs in the Hereafter;

Except for those who repent before they fall into
your power: in that case, know that God is
Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful.

O ye who believe! Do your duty to God, seek the
means of approach unto Him, and strive with might and
main in his cause: that ye may prosper.

As to those who reject Faith,- if they had
everything on earth, and twice repeated, to give as
ransom for the penalty of the Day of Judgment, it would
never be accepted of them, theirs would be a grievous
penalty.

Their wish will be to get out of the Fire, but
never will they get out therefrom: their penalty will
be one that endures.

As to the thief, Male or female, cut off his or her
hands: a punishment by way of example, from God, for
their crime: and God is Exalted in power.

But if the thief repents after his crime, and
amends his conduct, God turneth to him in forgiveness;
for God is Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful.

Knowest thou not that to God (alone) belongeth the
dominion of the heavens and the earth? He punisheth
whom He pleaseth, and He forgiveth whom He pleaseth:
and God hath power over all things.

O Apostle! let not those grieve thee, who race each
other into unbelief: (whether it be) among those who
say "We believe" with their lips but whose hearts have
no faith; or it be among the Jews,- men who will listen
to any lie,- will listen even to others who have never
so much as come to thee. They change the words from
their (right) times and places: they say, "If ye are
given this, take it, but if not, beware!" If any one's
trial is intended by God, thou hast no authority in the
least for him against God. For such - it is not God's
will to purify their hearts. For them there is disgrace
in this world, and in the Hereafter a heavy punishment.

(They are fond of) listening to falsehood, of
devouring anything forbidden. If they do come to thee,
either judge between them, or decline to interfere. If
thou decline, they cannot hurt thee in the least. If
thou judge, judge in equity between them. For God
loveth those who judge in equity.

But why do they come to thee for decision, when
they have (their own) law before them?- therein is the
(plain) command of God; yet even after that, they would
turn away. For they are not (really) People of Faith.

It was We who revealed the law (to Moses): therein
was guidance and light. By its standard have been
judged the Jews, by the prophets who bowed (as in
Islam) to God's will, by the rabbis and the doctors of
law: for to them was entrusted the protection of God's
book, and they were witnesses thereto: therefore fear
not men, but fear me, and sell not my signs for a
miserable price. If any do fail to judge by (the light
of) what God hath revealed, they are (no better than)
Unbelievers.

We ordained therein for them: "Life for life, eye
for eye, nose or nose, ear for ear, tooth for tooth,
and wounds equal for equal." But if any one remits the
retaliation by way of charity, it is an act of
atonement for himself. And if any fail to judge by (the
light of) what God hath revealed, they are (No better
than) wrong-doers.

And in their footsteps We sent Jesus the son of
Mary, confirming the Law that had come before him: We
sent him the Gospel: therein was guidance and light,
and confirmation of the Law that had come before him: a
guidance and an admonition to those who fear God.

Let the people of the Gospel judge by what God hath
revealed therein. If any do fail to judge by (the light
of) what God hath revealed, they are (no better than)
those who rebel.

To thee We sent the Scripture in truth, confirming
the scripture that came before it, and guarding it in
safety: so judge between them by what God hath
revealed, and follow not their vain desires, diverging
from the Truth that hath come to thee. To each among
you have we prescribed a law and an open way. If God
had so willed, He would have made you a single people,
but (His plan is) to test you in what He hath given
you: so strive as in a race in all virtues. The goal of
you all is to God; it is He that will show you the
truth of the matters in which ye dispute;

And this (He commands): Judge thou between them by
what God hath revealed, and follow not their vain
desires, but beware of them lest they beguile thee from
any of that (teaching) which God hath sent down to
thee. And if they turn away, be assured that for some
of their crime it is God's purpose to punish them. And
truly most men are rebellious.

Do they then seek after a judgment of (the days of)
ignorance? But who, for a people whose faith is
assured, can give better judgment than God?

O ye who believe! take not the Jews and the
Christians for your friends and protectors: They are
but friends and protectors to each other. And he
amongst you that turns to them (for friendship) is of
them. Verily God guideth not a people unjust.

Those in whose hearts is a disease - thou seest how
eagerly they run about amongst them, saying: "We do
fear lest a change of fortune bring us disaster." Ah!
perhaps God will give (thee) victory, or a decision
according to His will. Then will they repent of the
thoughts which they secretly harboured in their hearts.

And those who believe will say: "Are these the men
who swore their strongest oaths by God, that they were
with you?" All that they do will be in vain, and they
will fall into (nothing but) ruin.

O ye who believe! if any from among you turn back
from his Faith, soon will God produce a people whom He
will love as they will love Him,- lowly with the
believers, mighty against the rejecters, fighting in
the way of God, and never afraid of the reproaches of
such as find fault. That is the grace of God, which He
will bestow on whom He pleaseth. And God encompasseth
all, and He knoweth all things.

Your (real) friends are (no less than) God, His
Apostle, and the (fellowship of) believers,- those who
establish regular prayers and regular charity, and they
bow down humbly (in worship).

As to those who turn (for friendship) to God, His
Apostle, and the (fellowship of) believers,- it is the
fellowship of God that must certainly triumph.

O ye who believe! take not for friends and
protectors those who take your religion for a mockery
or sport,- whether among those who received the
Scripture before you, or among those who reject Faith;
but fear ye God, if ye have faith (indeed).

When ye proclaim your call to prayer they take it
(but) as mockery and sport; that is because they are a
people without understanding.

Say: "O people of the Book! Do ye disapprove of us
for no other reason than that we believe in God, and
the revelation that hath come to us and that which came
before (us), and (perhaps) that most of you are
rebellious and disobedient?"

Say: "Shall I point out to you something much worse
than this, (as judged) by the treatment it received
from God? those who incurred the curse of God and His
wrath, those of whom some He transformed into apes and
swine, those who worshipped evil;- these are (many
times) worse in rank, and far more astray from the even
path!"

When they come to thee, they say: "We believe": but
in fact they enter with a mind against Faith, and they
go out with the same but God knoweth fully all that
they hide.

Many of them dost thou see, racing each other in
sin and rancour, and their eating of things forbidden.
Evil indeed are the things that they do.

Why do not the rabbis and the doctors of Law forbid
them from their (habit of) uttering sinful words and
eating things forbidden? Evil indeed are their works.

The Jews say: "God's hand is tied up." Be their
hands tied up and be they accursed for the (blasphemy)
they utter. Nay, both His hands are widely
outstretched: He giveth and spendeth (of His bounty) as
He pleaseth. But the revelation that cometh to thee
from God increaseth in most of them their obstinate
rebellion and blasphemy. Amongst them we have placed
enmity and hatred till the Day of Judgment. Every time
they kindle the fire of war, God doth extinguish it;
but they (ever) strive to do mischief on earth. And God
loveth not those who do mischief.

If only the People of the Book had believed and
been righteous, We should indeed have blotted out their
iniquities and admitted them to gardens of bliss.

If only they had stood fast by the Law, the Gospel,
and all the revelation that was sent to them from their
Lord, they would have enjoyed happiness from every
side. There is from among them a party on the right
course: but many of them follow a course that is evil.

O Apostle! proclaim the (message) which hath been
sent to thee from thy Lord. If thou didst not, thou
wouldst not have fulfilled and proclaimed His mission.
And God will defend thee from men (who mean mischief).
For God guideth not those who reject Faith.

Say: "O People of the Book! ye have no ground to
stand upon unless ye stand fast by the Law, the Gospel,
and all the revelation that has come to you from your
Lord." It is the revelation that cometh to thee from
thy Lord, that increaseth in most of them their
obstinate rebellion and blasphemy. But sorrow thou not
over (these) people without Faith.

Those who believe (in the Qur'an), those who follow
the Jewish (scriptures), and the Sabians and the
Christians,- any who believe in God and the Last Day,
and work righteousness,- on them shall be no fear, nor
shall they grieve.

We took the covenant of the Children of Israel and
sent them apostles, every time, there came to them an
apostle with what they themselves desired not - some
(of these) they called impostors, and some they (go so
far as to) slay.

They thought there would be no trial (or
punishment); so they became blind and deaf; yet God (in
mercy) turned to them; yet again many of them became
blind and deaf. But God sees well all that they do.

They do blaspheme who say: "God is Christ the son
of Mary." But said Christ: "O Children of Israel!
worship God, my Lord and your Lord." Whoever joins
other gods with God,- God will forbid him the garden,
and the Fire will be his abode. There will for the
wrong-doers be no one to help.

They do blaspheme who say: God is one of three in a
Trinity: for there is no god except One God. If they
desist not from their word (of blasphemy), verily a
grievous penalty will befall the blasphemers among
them.

Why turn they not to God, and seek His forgiveness?
For God is Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful.

Christ the son of Mary was no more than an apostle;
many were the apostles that passed away before him. His
mother was a woman of truth. They had both to eat their
(daily) food. See how God doth make His signs clear to
them; yet see in what ways they are deluded away from
the truth!

Say: "Will ye worship, besides God, something which
hath no power either to harm or benefit you? But God,-
He it is that heareth and knoweth all things."

Say: "O people of the Book! exceed not in your
religion the bounds (of what is proper), trespassing
beyond the truth, nor follow the vain desires of people
who went wrong in times gone by,- who misled many, and
strayed (themselves) from the even way.

Curses were pronounced on those among the Children
of Israel who rejected Faith, by the tongue of David
and of Jesus the son of Mary: because they disobeyed
and persisted in excesses.

Nor did they (usually) forbid one another the
iniquities which they committed: evil indeed were the
deeds which they did.

Thou seest many of them turning in friendship to
the Unbelievers. Evil indeed are (the works) which
their souls have sent forward before them (with the
result), that God's wrath is on them, and in torment
will they abide.

If only they had believed in God, in the Apostle,
and in what hath been revealed to him, never would they
have taken them for friends and protectors, but most of
them are rebellious wrong-doers.

Strongest among men in enmity to the believers wilt
thou find the Jews and Pagans; and nearest among them
in love to the believers wilt thou find those who say,
"We are Christians": because amongst these are men
devoted to learning and men who have renounced the
world, and they are not arrogant.

And when they listen to the revelation received by
the Apostle, thou wilt see their eyes overflowing with
tears, for they recognise the truth: they pray: "Our
Lord! we believe; write us down among the witnesses.

"What cause can we have not to believe in God and
the truth which has come to us, seeing that we long for
our Lord to admit us to the company of the righteous?"

And for this their prayer hath God rewarded them
with gardens, with rivers flowing underneath,- their
eternal home. Such is the recompense of those who do
good.

But those who reject Faith and belie our Signs,-
they shall be companions of Hell-fire.

O ye who believe! make not unlawful the good things
which God hath made lawful for you, but commit no
excess: for God loveth not those given to excess.

Eat of the things which God hath provided for you,
lawful and good; but fear God, in Whom ye believe.

God will not call you to account for what is futile
in your oaths, but He will call you to account for your
deliberate oaths: for expiation, feed ten indigent
persons, on a scale of the average for the food of your
families; or clothe them; or give a slave his freedom.
If that is beyond your means, fast for three days. That
is the expiation for the oaths ye have sworn. But keep
to your oaths. Thus doth God make clear to you His
signs, that ye may be grateful.

O ye who believe! Intoxicants and gambling,
(dedication of) stones, and (divination by) arrows, are
an abomination,- of Satan's handwork: eschew such
(abomination), that ye may prosper.

Satan's plan is (but) to excite enmity and hatred
between you, with intoxicants and gambling, and hinder
you from the remembrance of God, and from prayer: will
ye not then abstain?

Obey God, and obey the Apostle, and beware (of
evil): if ye do turn back, know ye that it is Our
Apostle's duty to proclaim (the message) in the
clearest manner.

On those who believe and do deeds of righteousness
there is no blame for what they ate (in the past), when
they guard themselves from evil, and believe, and do
deeds of righteousness,- (or) again, guard themselves
from evil and believe,- (or) again, guard themselves
from evil and do good. For God loveth those who do
good.

O ye who believe! God doth but make a trial of you
in a little matter of game well within reach of game
well within reach of your hands and your lances, that
He may test who feareth him unseen: any who transgress
thereafter, will have a grievous penalty.

O ye who believe! Kill not game while in the sacred
precincts or in pilgrim garb. If any of you doth so
intentionally, the compensation is an offering, brought
to the Ka'ba, of a domestic animal equivalent to the
one he killed, as adjudged by two just men among you;
or by way of atonement, the feeding of the indigent; or
its equivalent in fasts: that he may taste of the
penalty of his deed. God forgives what is past: for
repetition God will exact from him the penalty. For God
is Exalted, and Lord of Retribution.

Lawful to you is the pursuit of water-game and its
use for food,- for the benefit of yourselves and those
who travel; but forbidden is the pursuit of land-game;-
as long as ye are in the sacred precincts or in pilgrim
garb. And fear God, to Whom ye shall be gathered back.

God made the Ka'ba, the Sacred House, an asylum of
security for men, as also the Sacred Months, the
animals for offerings, and the garlands that mark them:
That ye may know that God hath knowledge of what is in
the heavens and on earth and that God is well
acquainted with all things.

Know ye that God is strict in punishment and that
God is Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful.

The Apostle's duty is but to proclaim (the
message). But God knoweth all that ye reveal and ye
conceal.

Say: "Not equal are things that are bad and things
that are good, even though the abundance of the bad
may dazzle thee; so fear God, O ye that understand;
that (so) ye may prosper."

O ye who believe! Ask not questions about things
which, if made plain to you, may cause you trouble. But
if ye ask about things when the Qur'an is being
revealed, they will be made plain to you, God will
forgive those: for God is Oft-forgiving, Most
Forbearing.

Some people before you did ask such questions, and
on that account lost their faith.

It was not God who instituted (superstitions like
those of) a slit-ear she-camel, or a she-camel let
loose for free pasture, or idol sacrifices for
twin-births in animals, or stallion-camels freed from
work: It is blasphemers who invent a lie against God;
but most of them lack wisdom.

When it is said to them: "Come to what God hath
revealed; come to the Apostle": They say: "Enough for
us are the ways we found our fathers following." what!
even though their fathers were void of knowledge and
guidance?

O ye who believe! Guard your own souls: If ye
follow (right) guidance, no hurt can come to you from
those who stray. the goal of you all is to God: it is
He that will show you the truth of all that ye do.

O ye who believe! When death approaches any of you,
(take) witnesses among yourselves when making
bequests,- two just men of your own (brotherhood) or
others from outside if ye are journeying through the
earth, and the chance of death befalls you (thus). If
ye doubt (their truth), detain them both after prayer,
and let them both swear by God: "We wish not in this
for any worldly gain, even though the (beneficiary) be
our near relation: we shall hide not the evidence
before God: if we do, then behold! the sin be upon us!"

But if it gets known that these two were guilty of
the sin (of perjury), let two others stand forth in
their places,- nearest in kin from among those who
claim a lawful right: let them swear by God: "We affirm
that our witness is truer than that of those two, and
that we have not trespassed (beyond the truth): if we
did, behold! the wrong be upon us!"

That is most suitable: that they may give the
evidence in its true nature and shape, or else they
would fear that other oaths would be taken after their
oaths. But fear God, and listen (to His counsel): for
God guideth not a rebellious people:

One day will God gather the apostles together, and
ask: "What was the response ye received (from men to
your teaching)?" They will say: "We have no knowledge:
it is Thou Who knowest in full all that is hidden."

Then will God say: "O Jesus the son of Mary!
Recount My favour to thee and to thy mother. Behold! I
strengthened thee with the holy spirit, so that thou
didst speak to the people in childhood and in maturity.
Behold! I taught thee the Book and Wisdom, the Law and
the Gospel and behold! thou makest out of clay, as it
were, the figure of a bird, by My leave, and thou
breathest into it and it becometh a bird by My leave,
and thou healest those born blind, and the lepers, by
My leave. And behold! thou bringest forth the dead by
My leave. And behold! I did restrain the Children of
Israel from (violence to) thee when thou didst show
them the clear Signs, and the unbelievers among them
said: 'This is nothing but evident magic.'

"And behold! I inspired the disciples to have faith
in Me and Mine Apostle: they said, 'We have faith, and
do thou bear witness that we bow to God as Muslims'".

Behold! the disciples, said: "O Jesus the son of
Mary! can thy Lord send down to us a table set (with
viands) from heaven?" Said Jesus: "Fear God, if ye have
faith."

They said: "We only wish to eat thereof and satisfy
our hearts, and to know that thou hast indeed told us
the truth; and that we ourselves may be witnesses to
the miracle."

Said Jesus the son of Mary: "O God our Lord! Send
us from heaven a table set (with viands), that there
may be for us - for the first and the last of us - a
solemn festival and a sign from thee; and provide for
our sustenance, for thou art the best Sustainer (of our
needs)."

God said: "I will send it down unto you: But if any
of you after that resisteth faith, I will punish him
with a penalty such as I have not inflicted on any one
among all the peoples."

And behold! God will say: "O Jesus the son of Mary!
Didst thou say unto men, worship me and my mother as
gods in derogation of God'?" He will say: "Glory to
Thee! never could I say what I had no right (to say).
Had I said such a thing, thou wouldst indeed have known
it. Thou knowest what is in my heart, Thou I know not
what is in Thine. For Thou knowest in full all that is
hidden.

"Never said I to them aught except what Thou didst
command me to say, to wit, 'worship God, my Lord and
your Lord'; and I was a witness over them whilst I
dwelt amongst them; when Thou didst take me up Thou
wast the Watcher over them, and Thou art a witness to
all things.

God will say: "This is a day on which the truthful
will profit from their truth: theirs are gardens, with
rivers flowing beneath,- their eternal Home: God
well-pleased with them, and they with God: That is the
great salvation, (the fulfilment of all desires).

To God doth belong the dominion of the heavens and
the earth, and all that is therein, and it is He Who
hath power over all things.